Ask your FIRST question about SSiW in here...:-)

I have just started the course (completed week 2 of South Wales). I downloaded the app and noticed that I can access all of the challenges now. Would you recommend waiting until I receive the emails before moving on? (as there are other things to do each week besides the challenges)
Diolch,
Andrew

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Welcome Andrew :slight_smile:
It’s a personal choice really - I think some people do move on, others prefer to wait for the emails.
Are you doing the 6 minute-a-day course or the 6 month course?
The 6 month course follows the same material but in a shorter time-frame, so one thing I would say is that if you do move on, don’t be disheartened when things get a bit more intense (as they will!). Also, if you do move on by yourself, do still do the extra tasks set in the emails, you’ll get enormous benefit from them.
If you’re following the 6 minute-a-day course and find the pace too slow for you (you are still only beginning, so remember, the ‘pace’ will ‘hot up’!), by all means move ahead, but again, do the extra tasks as well - you can always slow down and stick with the email pattern when the harder challenges set in.
Either way, it needs to stay ‘do-able’ and fun, so find the way that helps you carry on best.

Whatever you decide, remember the forum community is always here for you, so if you need answers, encouragement, or even to let us know of your breakthroughs, keep posting! :slight_smile:

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Thank you. I am doing the 6 month course and enjoying it so far. I think I will stick with the two sessions per week for now and see how I go!

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Hi Andrew!

Good question! I rather regretted racing ahead… However, having a chilled look in Week 0, at all that the coming course has to offer…

[e.g. a Slack community “6/6 Support” (as soon as you get the joining instructions) deciding how you’ll make your profile clearly yours, distinct from other Andrews, becoming familiar with all the channels on there, each having a specific purpose, including “# introduce yourself” and “# group video sessions” (link in that channel but timetable under # announcements), and sessions which include a Q&A of 30mins length in English so you can safely say hi in person]

… and finding your way round this forum, on which you now have a posting & thread here, + also having explored what is on the SSi website (FAQs, etc): all these preparations will stand you in good stead later.

Best wishes, pob lwc @andrew-birch … I look forward to the possibility of meeting you at an event or a regular meet-up somewhere, or perhaps online in a group video session.

P.S. Subscribing to the emailed newsletter that @CatrinLliarJones sends out or to the additional Slack community WSP; looking up SSiW on social media, if you use that sort of thing, these will alert you to the rich life that is out there (and in here) for you! You can then prioritise with ease. :wink:

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how do you record myself on soundcloud please

It sometimes depends on what gadget you’re using (pc/phone/tablet etc), but what I do is record using the in-built software on my laptop, then upload the track to soundcloud, then copy the ‘share’ link to post it back in the relevant section in the forum.
You might find some other tips here, or if you search for ‘soundcloud’ using the magnifying glass on the top banner, you’ll find other threads that may help too.

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Hi everyone :slight_smile: Not sure if my brain is hard wired or if its just me - I’m on lesson one and I’m really struggling to remember to say “D’wym” rather than “R’wyn”. Is that a problem, do I need to work at this, or is R’wyn ok? I also must be rectivating my Welsh brain cells from when I was MUCH younger, because I automatically said Isiau (?) rather than Moyn. Help! I know we aren’t striving for perfection, but I’d like to getthe first lesson right at least!
Thanks xx

You’re ‘right’ whichever one you go with, because they’re just different ways of saying the same thing - rwy’n is a bit more formal and old-fashioned, but that doesn’t matter - dwi’n (note: N, not M) is more common/normal now - but if you go with whichever comes to mind first, you’ll be fine, and in due course you’ll almost certainly end up using whichever version you hear most from the people you spend most time in conversation with… :slight_smile:

Fab, thank you so much - I might find that going forward(the old-fashioned bit) then, the last time I spoke Welsh, dinosaurs were roaming the world and we still took O Levels in it! :rofl:

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If you are confusing “dwi’n” with “rwy’n”, that’s no problem - if you learnt some Welsh years ago, “rwy’n” was the standard form, whereas “dwi’n” (or wi’n) is a much more commonly heard spoken form. Stick with what you’re comfortable with but don’t be surprised if you morph to “dwi’n” (or wi’n) eventually!
If you’re confusing “dwi’m” (notice the n rather than the n) with "rwy’n, then that’s slightly different - dwi’m with an m is negative (= I am not) whereas rwy’n is positive (= I am), so yes, try not to mix those up.
Which area are you learning (i.e. North or South)?
Eisiau (spelt in spoken form as ishe or isio) is fine for to want - moyn is heard more in the South, but you’ll hear plenty of eisiau too. There is a subtle difference though - in the South, moyn = to want and eisiau = to need but in the North eisiau = to want and angen = to need.

edit - ah, I see Aran has beaten me to it by not being quite so long-winded!

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Lucky you, you got to see dinosaurs… Do you have pictures, by any chance? :t_rex:

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I have a question - I am finding it difficult to remember everything that is said on the longer sentences and find it impossible to finish saying the sentence in Welsh - any ideas? Diolch! Therese

Hi, @therese.danchin! If you type ‘long sentences’ into the search box here, you’ll find lots of people with exactly the same problem! The most comforting thing that I read on this issue was that it doesn’t really matter whether you say,’ I met someone in the pub who used to work with your brother’ or ‘I met someone in the pub who said he wanted to practise Welsh with you’, as long as you say something. The idea is that you don’t have time to over-think it, but just say what comes into your mind. As you go on with the course, eventually those long sentences will just come out effortlessly. Meanwhile, laugh at your mistakes, because they’re part of the learning process!

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Hello, I am new to the course and new to the technology - not sure which is more challenging :). Seriously though, I think I have my head round the difference between I must and i 've got in challenge 4, but I am at a loss with 'and’from one of the earlier challenges. I got that it’s r if a consonant and ac if a vowel, but when I am doing the challenges I usually get it wrong for eg; fine if followed by dween, but when followed by ma, I assume it will be r but you say ac . I no comprendez and despite repeatedly trying to understand it, I don’t - so please help, thank you - Sue

Helo Bronwent,

Thank you so much for your encouragement! I’ll try and remember that. Thanks again. Therese

Welcome Sue :slight_smile:

Try not to overthink it and after a while your mouth will say what your ears have heard rather than what your brain thinks ought to be there!

‘And’ is either ‘a’ or ‘ac’. When it comes before a word beginning with a consonant, it’s ‘a’ and when it’s before a word beginning with a vowel, it’s ‘ac’. However, there are occasions, like “ac mae” which seem to break this rule. This is because “ac mae” is actually a shortening of “ac y mae” which, over time, has lost its ‘y’ but not changed its ‘ac’! It’s a little anomaly that “just is”, but honestly, if you say “a mae” until you naturally switch to “ac mae” (and the more you hear it, the more it’ll stick), it’s not a huge problem.

Hope that helps a bit, but the bottom line is, don’t worry at this stage, just go with the flow!

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Hi, I joined and did the first lesson. I tried to go to the forum where I could ask to be put on the map, but somehow got redirected to a general forum list. I am in Knoxville, TN USA 37923.

I would like to know how to also learn to spell what I’m learning to speak. How do I do that?

Also a friend directed me here to find a translation for the title of a knitting pattern I wrote, but after signing up and doing the first lesson, I can’t find a place where I can translate. The name is “Soft, Leafy.”

Thank you (Dioch?)

~ Nikki

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Hi Nikki, welcome!

The forum is a bit of a behemoth, but don’t worry, there are always people who can help you navigate it!

We have a thread for asking to be added to the map here The 'Please add me to the SSiW map' thread 🗺
but I’ll also tag @Sionned for you here, as she’s the one who actually does the adding.

The course isn’t designed to teach spelling, it’s designed to get people speaking first and foremost, but most people pick up spelling as they go along and by doing ‘extras’ such as reading Welsh - you might find the articles on https://parallel.cymru/ useful. Generally though, we encourage people to speak and hear first and read and write much later. It does all click into place eventually, but trying to do it all at once can be overwhelming.

We don’t have a built-in tool for translating on the site - but what we do have is lots of people who will help with a translation.
So “Soft, Leafy” would be “Meddal, Deiliog”

Hope you enjoy the rest of the course, and remember, we’re all here to help, most of us have been through or are going through exactly what you will come across, so never worry about asking on the forum if you need any help, support or encouragement! :slight_smile:

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Hi, Nikki - I’ve added you to the map. Thanks!

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Hi there,
I’ve started a night school class with Dysgu Cymraeg Gwent. Great fun, feel i’m doing ok and could probably have a very basic conversation. I’m listening to dialogues and can now understand quite a bit. I’m trying to use all sorts of resources to broaden my understanding but speaking practice is not frequent hence i thought i’d have a go on here this site. However…… the first challenge (south) straight away shows differences, using ‘moyn’ rather than ‘eisiau’, Using ‘eisiau’ where I’ve been taught ‘angen’, i’ve been taught ‘dw i ddim yn cofio’ etc etc. I appreciate they’re all correct but It does confuse things somewhat and i wonder if i should continue or stop now to avoid confusion !!!

It also raises an interesting question which may be better suited to other topics on the forum, such as should there be a standardised regulated official vocabulary overseen by an organisation similar to Academie Francaise in France ??? How do the various methods reconcile or meet the needs for their students if they use different vocab etc etc ?? interesting stuff.